I’ve had the debate on in the background this afternoon (while marking a never-ending pile of exam papers on free movement of goods and persons) – and it’s not been a bad one. Bill Cash has obsessively been intervening to talk about habeas corpus, I’m not sure to what point, and Michael Mates I thought made a fool of himself by suggesting that the government’s proposed Parliamentary trigger for a 42 day detention power, followed by an application to a judge for an actual extension of detention in a specific case, somehow offers less protection than an application to a judge alone. Dari Taylor and Gordon Marsden were pretty unimpressive Labour loyalists, too, Dari Taylor in particular being assailed by inverventions and challenges from her colleagues.
There have been quite a few good speeches too, though. Chris Huhne was good for the LibDems, but his old leader Sir Ming deserves praise for his serious speech, in which he criticised the government for scrambling around trying to buy votes, and urged members to look to their political consciences. Best of all today though has been Diane Abbott, who passionately laid in not only to the provisions, but still more effectively to the government’s motives in bringing back proposals to extend detention after they were rejected earlier this Parliament. She ridiculed the government’s whipping operation and the backroom negotiations and wound up with an intense plea to defend the liberty of the marginalised which may even, just, have influenced a Labour member or two.
There’s not been too much legalism I’m glad to say. A pity the Lords debate on the Lisbon Treaty is going on at the same time.
UPDATE: Mark Durkan, the SDLP member for Foyle, has just given a short speech that runs Diane Abbot close – drawing on the experience of internment in Northern Ireland he called the government’s proposals “madness” and urged the House not to feed what it wants to fight.
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